Big Data” is here to stay

The exhibition industry is aware of the potential of collecting large amounts of data. This so called “big data,” has the power to transform the industry for all of its stakeholders.

For example, The Economist reported on a recent AAAS meeting and some of its speakers. One speaker was Song Chaoming, a professor at NortheastUniversity in Boston who stated with a 93% certainty that by understanding data he was able to predict where a person is at any time of the day. Sound unbelievable? Another of Dr Song’s colleagues, Dr Vespignani created a program called GLEAM (Global Epidemic and Mobility Model) that is able to predict travel patterns of individuals.

And so we have a new science called psychohistory, a discipline that enables its practitioners to predict the behaviour of large groups of people.

The implication for the exhibition industry that regularly caters to large groups has tremendous potential. It also has a spin-off effect of creating a whole new body of experts. For example I have been reading various articles about jobs of the future. Here are some examples that will be the result of “big data,”

Social Education Specialists who will specialize in methods of enhancing peer networks, Avatar Relationship Managers who will be able to organise alternate identity interactions online and Amnesia Surgeons who will have the skills to remove negative memories. Another interesting job of the future is something called a Nano-Weapons Designer who will create weapons too small for the human eye to see.

The potential I see is twofold:

1. An increase in data will create opportunities to focus marketing of an exhibition to a degree never seen in human history.

2. New jobs will open the possibility of new exhibitions and conferences.